Abraham Lincoln vs.

John Wilkes Booth

Toni Martin
Abraham Lincoln was a very strong and sturdy man who always did what he believed in. He was kind and gentle and always honest. He was the sixteenth president of the United States. He is the president that was in office when the Civil War took place. Those who knew him spoke of him as patient, earnest, well controlled and firm. John Wilkes Booth was was a supporter of the South during the Civil War. He believed that the Civil War was necessary for the freedom of the south. People saw him as handsome and charming and he was well liked. Others saw him as unwilling to work for what he wanted and lazy. He is the man who murdered Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky (now LaRue County). He lived with his mother, father, and sister until, when he was nine years old, his mother died of milk sickness. Shortly after, his father, Thomas Lincoln, remarried Sarah Bush Johnston, who Abraham grew very close to. In 1830, fearing a milk sickness outbreak, the family moved to a public land in Macon County, Illinois. On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the president of the United States. He had served a two year term in the U.S. House of Representatives beforehand. During his time in office, he did many important things but, by far, the most important was victory of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln hated slavery; He hated the sadness and suffering that it brought, but he also hated war. He hated all the destruction and separation that it would carry along with it but he knew that it was important if he wanted to save the Union. The people in South America were against Abraham because he strongly opposed slavery. South Carolina was the first to secede in December 1860. Six other Southern states followed: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. After Lincoln's inauguration, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina also left the Union. The states that

seceded were called the Confederacy. This secession of the Southern states led to the gruesome Civil War. Because he felt the need to try to settle the feud without fighting, he wrote to the Confederacy telling them that what they were doing was wrong and that he was going to do everything he could to defend the Union. Abraham is remembered for his outstanding speeches. A very famous one was his Gettysburg Address which was a speech given after the victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. Sadly they lost many men therefore, in his speech Lincoln defined the war as an effort dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality and declared that the deaths of so many brave soldiers would not be in vain. John Wilkes Booth was born in Bel Air, Maryland on May 10, 1838. As a child he was spoiled and received very little education because he failed to attend school regularly. He was the ninth of ten children born to the famous, eccentric, and hard-drinking actor, Junius Booth. At the age of fourteen, his father died. Shortly after, John decided to pursue a life theatre just like his father. Although sometimes he refused to memorize his scripts and was unwilling to work, he was noted for his acting skills. In the 1850s his life took a political turn. He joined the Know-Nothing Party, an organization devoted to reducing the stream of immigrants into the United States and aided with the capture of John Brown, an abolitionist who was responsible for the raid at Harper's Ferry. He also attended John Brown s execution and said that abolitionists were traitors and deserved the same fate. During the Civil War, Booth worked as a Confederate secret agent. He met often with the heads of the Secret Service, Jacob Thompson and Clement Clay, in Montreal. In 1864, he planned to kidnap Abraham Lincoln use him as a prisoner of war. Booth and his friends planned to take Lincoln at a matinee performance of Still Waters Run Deep on March 17 which he would be attending. However, this plan failed when Abraham changed his plans and decided instead to speak to the 140th Indiana Regiment. He thus planned to capture him at the Ford Theatre but this failed as well when his conspirators thought it too risky. After this, John wasn t given time to capture him because of the fall of Richmond and the end of the war victory to the north. Furious, Booth planned to assassinate Abraham at performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's

Theatre. Sadly, this plan worked. He was allowed to enter the president s box with a card that he showed to a presidential aide. There he shot the president. After, he jumped down on the stage shouting, "Sic semper tyrannis! (Latin for 'Thus ever to tyrants!') The South is avenged!" When he jumped however, he broke his leg which slowed his getaway. He and his fellow conspirator were then forced to get Booth medical attention before he tried to escape. After being treated, they crossed the Potomac River and traveled to a farm. At the barn, they were found by the pursuers sent after them. His friend surrendered but Booth refused therefore was shot while the tobacco barn burned to the ground around him. His last words before he died were Tell Mother I died for my country."

Abraham Lincoln and John Booth were two very different figures. While Lincoln was gentle and kind, Booth was cold and lazy. Abraham was always genuine and will be remembered today as the man who won the Civil War and brought peace to the Union. John Wilkes Booth will always be remembered today as the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln.